The official blog of New Orleans Bride Magazine, offering a daily dose of all things weddings

Naturally Beautiful

Your guide to barely there bridal make up

Mirella Cameran

A flawless, lit from within, natural look is perfect for any bride. It is also currently one of the hottest trends in beauty. However, that fresh, dewy glow can be hard to achieve, taking hours of work and layers of products.

That’s why we put together the insider’s guide on how to create the barely-there but beautiful look. First, check your skin undertones by looking at the color of the veins in your wrist. If they appear more green, blue or purple you have cool, pink undertones. If they appear more yellow or olive you have warm, golden undertones.

Generally speaking, cool undertones are most flattered by a spectrum of cool, neutral tones of blue, green, mauve, pink, peach and purple.
Earth tones such as brown, beige, gold, orange, orange-red are most flattering for warm skin tones.

Next find the perfect foundation and concealer.

“Matching skin tones can be tricky but not impossible,” says makeup and hair artist, John Wright, who works with celebrities such as Cate Blanchett and January Jones. When purchasing a foundation, you should always check the shades on your neck or jawline in the natural daylight to ensure a perfect match.”

Wright says to always take into consideration that your body might be various shades. For example, you might have tanned shoulders and arms, but use sunscreen to protect your face, making it a lighter shade.

“I usually worked with a deeper foundation than their normal shade, and use bronzing powders to balance the skin tones on the cheeks, forehead and sides of the neck,” says Wright. “The bronzing powder should be similar to your deepest skin tone. I then use a blush to add softness and finish the look.”

As far as make-up colors are concerned, Wright recommends sticking with a single palette, “Too many colors can confuse and using colors in the same range are best for a natural and soft effect,” says Wright.

Bearing in mind your undertones and overtones, there are broad guidelines as to which colors will enhance your features most effectively.

It’s also helpful to identify models or celebrities who share your coloring and complexion and decide which looks you like best. Then either pick similar shades yourself or work with an artist to build your own look around these colors.

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The official blog of New Orleans Bride Magazine, offering a daily dose of all things weddings

about

“Let Them Eat Cake,” is the official wedding blog of New Orleans Bride Magazine. The LTEC blog is the joint labor of love for Kelly Massicot and Melanie Warner Spencer. Massicot is web and social media editor for Renaissance Publishing, a contributing writer for New Orleans Bride Magazine, wedding junkie and fond lover of cake, especially petit fours from Chateau Coffee Cafe. Spencer is the editor of New Orleans Bride Magazine, writer of the “Bon Vivant” blog and a Francophile obsessed with Marie Antoinette and those tiny cakes from Chateau Coffee Café. You can reach Kelly at Kelly@myneworleans.com and Melanie at Melanie@myneworleans.com.